1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to securing modular furniture and, more particularly, to a bracket apparatus for releasably securing a plurality of independent seating sections together in a modular side-by-side configuration to form a loveseat, sofa or other modular seating assembly.
2. Discussion
Present day sofas now often incorporate one or more reclining seating sections which provide a significant degree of added comfort when compared with many conventional sofas. Such modular sofa assemblies incorporating one or more reclining seating sections enable the owner to "customize" a sofa assembly to fit her/his specific needs and lifestyle. With the sofa assemblies just described, it has heretofore been necessary to secure the recliner section(s) with the remaining seating section(s) via a permanent frame, usually constructed integrally with the various seating sections at the factory. Accordingly, when the sofa assembly is shipped it must be shipped as one single, relatively large structure.
One solution to this problem was to secure the modular seating sections to a pair of transverse frame rails after delivery. As such, the modular components could be individually shipped. An example of this system is that disclosed in the commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,253, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
The advantage of such a frame-like mounting apparatus as described in the above-referenced U.S. Patent is the flexibility in changing the configuration of the sofa assembly as the needs of the owner change. For example, if the sofa assembly was originally purchased with three sections, the owner could at a later time eliminate the center section and reinstall the two other sections on shorter frame rails to achieve a loveseat configuration. Accordingly, there would be no need for the owner to order an entire new sofa assembly comprising only two sections if the owner desired to utilize the sofa in a location with space restrictions or for other reasons. However, this system can limit the possible configurations of the modular sections, especially if the use of a corner seating section or wedge is desired.
Another solution to this problem was to secure the modular seating sections with various key-hole type brackets after delivery. This system also allows for the modular components to be individually shipped. However, one problem with this key-hole type bracket system is that one seating section must be lifted and aligned with the other seating section, and then lowered into place for properly engaging the key-hole brackets. An example of this system is that disclosed in the commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,938, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
While the frame rail and key-hole bracket systems have proved to provide good structural strength to the sofa assembly, it is desirable to provide a simple bracket apparatus for releasably securing the independent sections of the modular seating assembly together, which eliminates the need for lifting the seating sections. Each independent seating section can be fitted with the appropriate bracket member for allowing the seating sections to be interconnected. Such a bracket apparatus would increase the possible configurations of the modular sections. This would also facilitate the shipping of such seating assemblies, as the various components could be shipped independently and interconnected after delivery.
Upon delivery to the destination, the ability to individually handle the modular components of the seating assembly would contribute to much easier handling of the seating assembly when moving it, for example, within hallways and through doorways of rooms in a home, apartment or even an office. The ability to transport individual sections of the seating assembly, allows the entire seating assembly to be easily moved through such areas where the completely assembled sofa might be too large and cumbersome to handle or transport.
In addition, it is often desirable to include multiple reclining seating sections in a seating assembly. The added weight of these recliner units would make a conventional seating unit heavy and difficult to handle and transport. Alternatively, the individual reclining seating units are easily handled and transported if detached from the seating assembly.
It is further desirable if the bracket apparatus described above includes means for enabling the modular sections of the sofa assembly to be laterally adjusted to compensate for slightly varying thicknesses of fabric and padding. The need for allowing some adjustability in a coupling or bracket apparatus as described above is particularly important when one or more recliner chair sections are included to form the modular seating assembly. The recliner sections must be able to recline freely with a minimum amount of friction from adjacent stationary or moveable seating sections. Additionally, the clearance between the recliner sections and other sections of the seating assembly must not be so great as to allow unnecessary gap clearance between adjacent sections of the seating assembly.
It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a bracket apparatus for a modular seating assembly which may be secured to the various seating sections of the assembly at the factory, or at the destination where the sofa assembly is to be installed.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a bracket apparatus which may be secured to each of the various sections of the modular sofa assembly for interconnecting the adjacent seating sections to each other.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a bracket apparatus which incorporates means for adjustably positioning adjacent seating sections of a modular sofa assembly to thereby compensate for varying thicknesses in fabric, cushioning, etc. of the various seating sections.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a universal bracket apparatus for a modular sofa assembly which enables a particular seating section, for example, a fixed seating section, to be detached from the apparatus and substituted with another seating section, for example, a reclining seating section, without changing the bracket apparatus.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a bracket apparatus which is very inexpensive to produce and which does not add appreciably to the overall complexity of the modular seating assembly.